Developing a community of practice: museums and reconciliation in Australia
Contents
Abstract
This chapter outlines issues for museums in promoting reconciliation in Australia and the roles that they have played and continue to play, as agents for social change and inclusion through public learning and working with Indigenous communities. A number of audience research and evaluation projects are discussed that show the difference museums can make in the reconciliation process and the consequences for future practice and social change, with a specific focus on the Australian Museum, Sydney. It is proposed that the process by which Australian museums have built working relationships and shared understandings with Indigenous people, particularly at the practitioner level, could form a template for how museums deal with other issues and make themselves relevant to the broader community through active engagement with multiple communities of practice.
